Truespeak

Conspiracy theorists have been saying all along that the real reason for going to war in Iraq was money. We'd take control of their oil and our rich friends and investors would profit. Maybe they were right after all.

Halliburton Co. and other U.S. contractors are being paid at least $1.9 billion from Iraqi funds under an arrangement set by the U.S.-led occupation authority, according to a review of documents and interviews with government agencies, companies and auditors.

Most of the money is for two controversial deals that originally had been financed with money approved by the U.S. Congress, but later shifted to Iraqi funds that were governed by fewer restrictions and less rigorous oversight.

For the first 14 months of the occupation, officials of the Coalition Provisional Authority provided little detailed information about the Iraqi money, from oil sales and other sources, that it spent on reconstruction contracts. They have said that it was used for the benefit of the Iraqi people and that most of the contracts paid from Iraqi money went to Iraqi companies. But the CPA never released information about specific contracts and the identities of companies that won them, citing security concerns, so it has been impossible to know whether these promises were kept.

The CPA has said it has awarded about 2,000 contracts with Iraqi money. Its inspector general compiled records for the major contracts, which it defined as those worth $5 million or more each. Analysis of those and other records shows that 19 of 37 major contracts funded by Iraqi money went to U.S. companies and at least 85 percent of the total $2.26 billion was obligated to U.S. companies. The contracts that went to U.S. firms may be worth several hundred million more once the work is completed.

Eighty-five percent? We were told that this money was going to be used to help the Iraqis. We were told that the oil revenues would be substantial enough to sustain their economy until they could become self-sufficient. Instead it's going to Dick Cheney's former employer.

I don't know what to say. The level of corruption in this administration keeps getting worse. They kept this secret by citing "security concerns." How many times have we been told that certain information is classified because of "security concerns?" What else are they hiding? What other lies are they covering up? It is beyond my comprehension how anyone could vote for an administration that has made a habit out of lying to us. Clinton lied about a matter in his personal life that had nothing to do with national security, financial responsibility, or foriegn relations and he gets impeached. This president lies about all of those things and gets to skate by. (That's right, I'm calling him a liar! Whether he believes the things he tells us or not, they are not the truth; therefore they are lies! Any consevatives want to debate this one?) Why has nothing been done?

I'll tell you why, the Democrats are too busy trying to take the high road. You can't fight a battle if you're in two different locations. If the Democrats truly want to fight Bush, they're going to have to go after him. Stop being nice about it and tell it like it is. He's a liar!